Day #25

My 50 Day Journey – Writing My Next Chapbook

Half my journey is done and I am still working on material. I must admit, I have slowed down a little. One poem is proving hard to wrap up. I had to let it sit a moment. Letting work I started sit for a moment without looking at it is a habit I acquired late 2015.

Some poems that I wrote, which were accepted for publication, were written in 15 minutes and subsequent editing was done in an hour. Conversely, other poems, which were accepted by editors for publication, took an entire year. I would start them up and let them sit for weeks. I would look at them, edit them and put them back on the shelf and let them sit some more.

I’m doing that now with one poem. I expect I will pick it up soon, read it and add more lines, cut a few lines and put it on the shelf again. That is the process for certain poems. I usually know when it’s ready for publication. Don’t ask me how I know. There’s just a sense of

completeness I feel prior to sending it off to a publisher.

After I finish this one, there are several subjects I feel I will fly through in 15 minutes or less. I have a list and I can’t wait to get to it.

I expect my next chapbook to be ready late Spring. I have 22 days left to write, compose and draft. After that the editing begins.